Lamar Police Department Stops Taking Cats

The Lamar Police Department, which doubles as the animal shelter for strays, can no longer take in cats. We went to find out why...Rusty Rives, Lamar Police Chief: "So whenever they came in and did the inspection, last month, they gave us a report back, to say if we're in compliance or if we're not, and what we found, our kennels, specifically for our cats are not in compliance, due to height restrictions for those animals.""They" - is the Missouri Department of Agriculture. We reached out to the department and they provided us this statement saying quote..."We see our inspection process as a way to identify improvements that need to be made to get facilities into compliance with Missouri law. Our animal care team always has, and will continue to, work actively with facilities to reach that ultimate goal of compliance and get them back into operation as quickly as possible."Rives: "This is just something we found that's not in compliance, so rather than not be in compliance at this point we just chose not to take the animals in." Chief Rives says they house between fourteen and seventeen cats at any given time. They're in the process of finding homes for the remaining cats in the care before the November 9th deadline. As for what they can do next, there's unanswered questions.Rives: "This is still a planning process for us, different styles of cat kennels or condos as they're called, different manufacturers, we're looking at options from other people where we can get used condos for them." Rives says the department and city are already on a tight budget, and it may be sometime before they can begin taking in cats again. Chief Rives says they will still pick up cats involved in bite cases or other high-risk cases.

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A Joplin native, Chris first started in broadcasting at age 16 at KSNF-TV in 2004..

Chris joined the KOAM team in 2017 as an Associate Producer. In April, he moved into a full-time reporter position. He spent time from 2008 to 2016 in various retail roles around the region before returning to his passion at KOAM. Chris is excited to continue telling the stories of the four states.
Chris and his wife Amber live in Joplin and have three amazing children.

A new survey by the website "Webstaurant Store" has noted an increase in coffee shop customers, especially those 13 to 18. Three new coffee shops have opened in the Joplin metro area within the last couple of months, so we sent Chris Warner to find out what trend's brought them here. Although there's a growing trend of younger coffee drinkers, the coffee shops we visited all told us they see all ages frequent their stores. Neil Simmonds, Z...More >>

A new survey by the website "Webstaurant Store" has noted an increase in coffee shop customers, especially those 13 to 18. Three new coffee shops have opened in the Joplin metro area within the last couple of months, so we sent Chris Warner to find out what trend's brought them here. Although there's a growing trend of younger coffee drinkers, the coffee shops we visited all told us they see all ages frequent their stores. Neil Simmonds, Z...More >>

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A new way to treat depression has made it's way to the four-states...Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or "TMS" therapy is a non-drug, non-invasive treatment for patients with major depression who have not seen success on anti-depressant medication. Freeman Health's Ozark Center recently debuted the technology which uses a highly targeted pulsed magnetic field, similar to what an MRI machine uses, to stimulate nerves in the part of...More >>

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A child is left behind on a bus in Webb City and the parent takes to Facebook fighting for change. Dr. Kevin Cooper, Webb City Asst. Superintendent: "To be honest with you, we're not 100% sure exactly, how it happened, but we can tell you that we had a student that was left on a bus for an extended period of time, and it was one of our early childhood students." The child left behind, only three years old, the daughter of Samantha Sweet. Sweet t...More >>

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When it comes to saving money, energy efficiency is one of the first things on the list. But that conversion for traffic signals...has an unexpected, winter side effect. About ten years ago the City of Joplin joined the trend of replacing the old-style incandescent traffic lights with LED's. David Hertzberg, Joplin Public Works Director: "The LED lights save 80% of the energy and they're a good sustainable and safe system." E...More >>

The Lamar Police Department, which doubles as the animal shelter for strays, can no longer take in cats. We went to find out why... Rusty Rives, Lamar Police Chief: "So whenever they came in and did the inspection, last month, they gave us a report back, to say if we're in compliance or if we're not, and what we found, our kennels, specifically for our cats are not in compliance, due to height restrictions for those animals."

The Lamar Police Department, which doubles as the animal shelter for strays, can no longer take in cats. We went to find out why... Rusty Rives, Lamar Police Chief: "So whenever they came in and did the inspection, last month, they gave us a report back, to say if we're in compliance or if we're not, and what we found, our kennels, specifically for our cats are not in compliance, due to height restrictions for those animals."

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Over in Joplin today, a monthly meeting of flute players. But these flute players are part of a special group, the Joplin Native American Flute Circle. Organizers say it's a great way to bring unity and unique ideas together for beginners and experienced musicians alike. Gordan Keyler, Flute Player: "There is something about the music, the ancient music it touches something deep within people its relaxing its peaceful and its an instrument an...More >>

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In Missouri, both Senator Claire McCaskill and her opponent, Attorney General Josh Hawley, making campaign stops in the state. McCaskill making a stop in Florissant today stopping at a local Walmart. McCaskill met with supporters and spoke about the campaign trips she's made and tackled issues facing the state. She also took the time to speak about Josh Hawley. Senator Claire McCaskill, (D), Missouri: "It's clear that this is really, rea...More >>

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As we get closer to Halloween, the Joplin Spooklight becomes a popular destination. So much so that a Joplin filmmaker decided to make a documentary about it. He made a stop in Pittsburg to discuss the film and the Spooklight. During his investigation, he couldn't figure out exactly what the spook light was. Right now, people can no longer park along Spooklight Road and he hopes someday, that might change. David Glidden, Filmmaker: "I t...

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If you're from the area, you're likely familiar with the Hornet Spooklight. If you're not don't worry we sent Chris Warner to see if he could catch the ghostly light on camera, and share a local resident's personal experiences... The faint glow of the moon as it crosses the sky, providing the only light on East 50 Road otherwise known as "Spooklight Road." After our camera was setup and powered on, a problem occurred, it couldn't r...

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Halloween is right around the corner and just the word scares up images of ghosts, goblins, witches and even bats. For one biology group at Pittsburg State University they're chasing those bats and they're not finding them in the belfry. The students in Andrew George's biology class will not find the bats they're looking for in a belfry, but instead, the concrete underground. Some of the bats they're after, are endangered, and so we can't disclose t...More >>